Codes and transparency in those elected to serve citizens of the United Kingdom including Scotland

M Hands made this Freedom of Information request to Scottish Parliament Automatic anti-spam measures are in place for this older request. Please let us know if a further response is expected or if you are having trouble responding.

Response to this request is long overdue. By law, under all circumstances, Scottish Parliament should have responded by now (details). You can complain by requesting an internal review.

Dear Scottish Parliament,

To request copies of all dates whereby the Parliament was approached by anyone regarding :-

The overall person responsible for The Ministerial Code

Who is overall responsible for The Miniterial Code

Dates the above name (s) have been overall responsible for the Ministerial Code

And
Copies of any correspondence outwith the Government and Parliament whereby the Ministerial Code was discussed

Yours faithfully,

M Hands

Foi-Officer,

Dear M Hands,

I acknowledge your freedom of information request received on 9 March 2023. This request has been logged with the following reference number: 2023-685691. We will reply in due course within the statutory deadline.

Kind regards,

Cara Dickson
Information Compliance Officer

Information Management and Governance Team
The Scottish Parliament
Edinburgh
EH99 1SP

Email: [email address]

My usual working days are Tuesday – Friday For assistance outwith these times, please contact [email address] or [email address]

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Foi-Officer,

1 Attachment

Dear M Hands,

 

I refer to your request for information dated 9 March. Please find
attached our letter seeking clarification of this request.

 

Kind regards,

 

Linda Forrest

Information Compliance Officer

 

Information Management & Governance

The Scottish Parliament

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

 

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References

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1. http://www.parliament.scot/
2. http://facebook.com/scottishparliament
3. http://twitter.com/ScotParl

Dear Scottish Parliament,

To request copies of all dates whereby the Parliament was approached by anyone
regarding :-
The overall person responsible for The Ministerial Code
Who is overall responsible for The Miniterial Code
Dates the above name (s) have been overall responsible for the Ministerial Code
And
Copies of any correspondence outwith the Government and Parliament whereby the
Ministerial Code was discussed

As the First Minister is responsible for the Scottish Ministerial Code, any enquiries that
we received regarding responsibility for the Ministerial Code (which applies to MSPs
who are Cabinet Secretaries and Ministers in the Scottish Government) would be
directed to the Scottish Government. We do not keep a record of the dates on which
we receive such enquiries as we have no business need to collect or collate this
information. Accordingly, we think that your request may be for the Scottish
Government rather than the Scottish Parliament and would be grateful if you could
clarify the position.

We also note that the final part of your request asks for ‘copies of any correspondence
outwith Government and Parliament’. Could you please clarify the nature of the
correspondence you are seeking?

Finally, could you please clarify which period you are seeking the information for? For
example, if you are seeking recent correspondence, we could search our records for
the period 2022-2023.

Thank You for accepting my correspondence with You and Your interest in providing an appropriate response

You seem to direct the requester to Scottish Government but

The Government make legislation and Parliament hold Government to account
We therefore believe that the information should be held by the Scottish Parliament if the overall person responsible for the Ministerial code is First Minister

You can correct us if that is inaccurate and indeed We should ask Scottish Government

Quote
Copies of any correspondence outwith the Government and Parliament whereby the
Ministerial Code was discussed
End quote

The Scottish Ministerial Code applies to members of the Scottish Government (the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries, Law Officers and junior Scottish Ministers). The guidance is issued by the First Minister and is a collection of standards around expected behaviours and responsibilities.

As Scotland has a resigned First Minister
We are asking for data about :-

To request copies of all dates whereby the Parliament was approached by anyone
regarding :-
The overall person responsible for The Ministerial Code

You have said it is the First Minister

Data about
Dates the above name (s) have been overall responsible for the Ministerial Code

And data recorded wherein the Parliament hold Government to account

Copies of any correspondence outwith the Government and Parliament whereby the
Ministerial Code was discussed

Correspondence outwith where the Ministerial code was discussed IE Parliament hold Government to account

The Scottish Ministerial Code applies to members of the Scottish Government (the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries, Law Officers and junior Scottish Ministers). The guidance is issued by the First Minister and is a collection of standards around expected behaviours and responsibilities

Yours faithfully,

M Hands

Foi-Officer,

Dear M Hands,

 

I refer to your email dated 14 March 2023 with your response to my letter
seeking clarification of your request.

 

As I have explained, for information about the Scottish Ministerial Code
you will need to contact the Scottish Government.  The Scottish
Ministerial Code applies to MSPs when acting in their capacity as Cabinet
Secretaries and Ministers of the Scottish Government (referred to
collectively as the Scottish Ministers). The First Minister, as head of
the Scottish Government, appoints Scottish Ministers and is responsible
for the Scottish Ministerial Code. That Code is written and published by
the Scottish Government.

 

The Code states that any complaints about the actions of MSPs when they
are acting in their capacity as Scottish Ministers should be made to the
First Minister. You can access information about the Scottish Ministerial
Code on the Scottish Government website at the following link:
[1]https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotti...

 

The Scottish Parliament has a role in scrutinising the policy and
activities of the Scottish Government. However, the Parliament has no role
in writing or overseeing the Scottish Ministerial Code, or scrutinising
any decisions made by the First Minister under the Code.

 

Any enquiries that we receive about the Ministerial Code would be
redirected to the Scottish Government. The Parliament’s Code of Conduct
for MSPs is available on the Scottish Parliament website at the following
link: [2]Code of Conduct | Scottish Parliament Website

 

The Code of Conduct for MSPs states that it does not cover Members who are
Ministers, when acting as Ministers of the Scottish Government and
carrying out functions of the Scottish Government which are covered by the
Ministerial Code. The Parliament therefore does not have information of
the type that you have requested.

 

I hope that you find this information to be of assistance and if you are
content to redirect your request to the Scottish Government then we will
issue a reply on the basis that the information you have requested is not
held by the Scottish Parliament.

 

Kind regards,

 

Linda Forrest

Information Compliance Officer

 

Information Management & Governance

The Scottish Parliament

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

 

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References

Visible links
1. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotti...
2. https://www.parliament.scot/msps/code-of...
3. http://www.parliament.scot/
4. http://facebook.com/scottishparliament
5. http://twitter.com/ScotParl

Dear Foi-Officer,

Yes please issue your response

Yours sincerely,

M Hands

Foi-Officer,

3 Attachments

Dear M Hands,

 

I refer to your request for information dated 9^th  March 2023 and
clarified on 14^th  March 2023.

 

Please find attached the reply to the request together with accompanying
section 25 and not held notices.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Robin Davidson

Head of Information Governance and Data Protection Officer

 

Information Management and Governance Team

The Scottish Parliament

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

 

 

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References

Visible links
1. http://www.parliament.scot/
2. http://facebook.com/scottishparliament
3. http://twitter.com/ScotParl

Dear Foi-Officer,

We are seeking guidance at this stage

Due to the various organisations
Changes in staffing
Resignation of the First Minister
And subsequent
New Fisrt Minister
Responsibility

Yours sincerely,

M Hands